Foreign Investors Become Net Buyers of Domestic Stocks for the First Time Since July Last Year
Financial Supervisory Service Releases "May 2025 Foreign Securities Investment Trends" Report
Foreign investors became net buyers of domestic stocks for the first time in ten months. They also continued to be net investors in bonds for the fourth consecutive month.
According to the 'May 2025 Foreign Securities Investment Trends' report released by the Financial Supervisory Service on June 12, foreign investors were net buyers of domestic stocks worth 2.01 trillion won last month based on settlement data. This ended the net selling streak that had lasted from August last year through April this year. By market, they purchased 1.867 trillion won in KOSPI stocks and 143 billion won in KOSDAQ stocks.
By region, foreign investors were net buyers of 1.2 trillion won in the Americas and 700 billion won in Asia. In contrast, they were net sellers of 600 billion won in the Middle East.
By country, investors from the United States were net buyers of 1.8 trillion won, while those from Ireland were net buyers of 600 billion won. On the other hand, investors from Canada and Norway were net sellers of 600 billion won and 500 billion won, respectively.
As of May, foreign investors held domestic stocks worth 748.8 trillion won, accounting for 26.7% of the total market capitalization.
The United States holds the largest amount of domestic stocks, with holdings totaling 300.3 trillion won, which represents 40.1% of all foreign holdings. This is followed by Europe with 232.6 trillion won (31.1%), Asia with 109.5 trillion won (14.6%), and the Middle East with 10.9 trillion won (1.5%).
Foreign investors were net investors in bonds for the fourth consecutive month. Last month, they were net buyers of 16.659 trillion won in listed bonds and received 5.322 trillion won in maturities, resulting in a net investment of 11.337 trillion won.
By region, they were net investors in Europe (6.4 trillion won), Asia (3.1 trillion won), and the Middle East (900 billion won). By type, they were net investors of 11.7 trillion won in government bonds, but were net redeemers of 400 billion won in special bonds. Currently, foreign investors hold 274.6 trillion won in government bonds (91.4%) and 25.8 trillion won in special bonds (8.6%).
By maturity, they were net investors in all categories: bonds with remaining maturity of five years or more (4.7 trillion won), between one and five years (4.7 trillion won), and less than one year (1.9 trillion won). As of the end of last month, foreign investors held 69.6 trillion won in bonds with less than one year remaining (23.2%), 98.2 trillion won with one to less than five years (32.7%), and 132.7 trillion won with five years or more (44.1%).
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